The Neighborhood High School Girl, Miss Isezaki, Is the Great Saintess Returned from Another World~ And I, Suddenly Awakened as Her Exclusive Mana Supply Uncle, Travel Between Earth and Another World with Time-Space Magic~ - 219. A Free Day

219. 219. 219. 219. A Free Day

In the depths of sleep… a faint voice echoed from afar.  

I couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but the sound was soothing somehow. Letting the murmur wash over me, I sank deeper into my slumber—  

(—Lady Isezaki, what brings you here at such a late hour? Is there an emergency?)  

(Eek! C-Colin dear, you’re awake?)  

(I’m on guard duty, so I wake up quickly. Ahem! So, what business do you have?)  

(Um, well, it’s not exactly business… I just thought I’d, um, check on Uncle while he’s sleeping—no, no, I mean, wish him a good night…)  

(Hmm? But you already said good night earlier, didn’t you? Matsunaga-sama has been asleep for quite a while now.)  

(Oh, r-right! Now that you mention it… I guess I got confused. Maybe I’m still a little groggy.)  

(I understand. When I was little, I once threw a knife at a noise in my sleepwalking state. It was only to find it was my sister checking on me. She was furious! I don’t do that anymore, though.)  

(O-oh, I see… Oh, I just had a great idea! If Uncle is asleep, wouldn’t it be easier for you to guard him if I slept in the same bed? It’s brilliant! I’ll go right now—)  

(Hold on!)  

(Wah, Colin dear, when did you get in front of me?)  

(Please rest comfortably in your own room, Lady Isezaki. If guarding you becomes a burden on the target, I would be failing as a protector. Now, please return. Shoo, shoo!)  

(O-okay, okay, stop pushing! Well then, Colin dear, do your best with your duties. Good night…)  

(Good night!)  

(…Muu,*pout*…)  

◇◇◇  

The next day. Perhaps thanks to my familiar bed, I had the best sleep I’d had in a while. I vaguely recall waking up to a noise once during the night, but it didn’t bother me.  

Today, Isezaki-san was at the academy, and Aihara was at work.  

As for me, I wanted to push forward with the potion sales. But it seemed unlikely anyone would try the potions at the VIP ward just a day after our first attempt. I decided it would be better to wait for Souda-san’s regular check-up results before making a move.  

Thus, today ended up being a rare free day for me.  

It’s a bit sad to call it rare when I’m unemployed, but I couldn’t just laze around at home watching TV or reading manga. Especially while the Isezaki estate was connected to the [Void Gate]—I had to maintain a respectable lifestyle in case someone like Isezaki-san or the landlady decided to drop by.  

So, I resolved to spend today as a model unemployed individual and head outside. But given my lack of outdoor hobbies, my activities were pretty limited: buying groceries and household goods, or visiting the 100-yen shops to stock up on items for sale in the other world.  

Since I already had enough food and supplies, I decided today’s outing would focus on 100-yen shop hopping. For someone like me, trying to be frugal, it was a perfect plan.  

However, there was a minor problem. Lately, I felt like some of the staff at certain 100-yen shops were starting to recognize me. It might just be my imagination, but…  

I didn’t mind if they found me amusing, but I didn’t want to be mistaken for a reseller. I mean, I am reselling the stuff, but it’s in another world. So they should cut me some slack!  

To avoid suspicion, I decided to venture out to a 100-yen shop I’d never visited before, somewhere farther away. Not only would it expand my shopping range, but it would also broaden the reach of my [Dimensional Teleport] ability—a win-win!  

For transportation, I planned to use a car. My rough plan was to drive around 100-yen shops and even cross into the neighboring prefecture.  

Of course, I’m a paper driver and don’t own a car. So I rented one. I opted for a plan that allowed me to return the car to a different rental station, making it easy to teleport back home after my long trip.  

And so, I smoothly rented a car at the rental agency.  

All that was left was to hop in and drive off—when suddenly, a small incident made me break into a cold sweat.  

At the car rental agency, the woman showing us the car smiled warmly and spoke to Colin.  

“Fufu, are you going on a drive with your dad today?”  

“This man is not my dad! Matsunaga-sama is my guardee!”  

“Wha…?”  

The woman’s expression stiffened. I hadn’t expected anyone to talk to Colin, so I hadn’t prepared for this scenario at all.  

“S-sorry! Uh, this girl is my relative, and she’s really into role-playing these days…”  

I hurriedly tried to cover it up. Colin, however, quickly followed up.  

“…! Yes, that’s it! Sorry for surprising you, miss!”  

“O-oh, I see… It looks good on you and is super cute.”  

“Thank you!”  

Colin flashed a bright smile, and the woman returned a slightly awkward grin. Crisis averted. Colin’s ability to think on her feet was truly impressive—what a genius.  

I had been pretty relaxed since Isezaki-san once mentioned that being with Colin didn’t draw much attention. But now that I thought about it, a regular guy in his thirties walking around with a foreign-looking little girl in a maid outfit was bound to attract stares.  

Sure, Colin might seem less conspicuous when standing next to someone like Isezaki-san, who naturally drew attention. But with me? The contrast was way too glaring.  

Come to think of it, the woman might have suspected something like a kidnapping and approached us out of concern. I’ll need to have a discussion with Colin later about coming up with a proper backstory.  

Anyway, with the awkward encounter resolved, I placed Colin in the passenger seat and pressed the accelerator.